Heteropolymers: a novel technology against blood-borne infections.

Heteropolymer (HP) technology is a novel cassette technology which is being developed for the treatment of infectious and autoimmune diseases. HPs are dual antibody conjugates, composed of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against the complement receptor type 1 (CR1) on primate red blood cells (RBCs) chemically cross-linked to mAbs that recognize blood-borne antigens. Upon administration of an HP, the target is bound to its counterpart mAb in the HP and immobilized on an RBC by binding of the anti-CR1 mAb to CR1 in a complement-independent manner, forming an immune complex.

Evaluation of antigen-based heteropolymer for treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus in a nonhuman primate model.

Autoantibodies that react with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) are a hallmark for diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and are also considered the pathogenic subset that is most associated with lupus nephritis. As an agent to remove the pathogenic dsDNA antibodies from the circulation of SLE patients, we are developing an antigen-based heteropolymer (AHP). The AHP consists of a monoclonal antibody to the complement receptor (CR1) cross-linked to salmon testis dsDNA to effect clearance of anti-DNA antibodies by binding them to erythrocyte CR1.